1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storing cassettes, compact discs and LP records on shelves, in a space-efficient manner, yet for easy access, with visibility of the stored articles and in equipment which is attractive and unobtrusive.
2. State of the Prior Art
Many devices have been developed to store audio cassettes, These devices are characterized by inefficient use of space, unattractive features, poor visibility of stored articles, difficulty of placing the articles into the storage devices and removing the articles therefrom and relatively low cost-effective storage. For example, one cassette storage device is formed of a wire basket and slides within a wire cage. Tape cassettes are stored in vertical orientation with the basket, making the tapes rather difficult to see, difficult to place within the basket and difficult to remove from the basket. The cage makes the entire device relatively large and unattractive.
Other cassette storage devices include boxes in which cassettes are stored in vertical orientation in spaced-apart relationship and racks wherein the cassettes are mounted in horizontal orientation but within or protruding slightly from an enclosure. These devices typically result in difficulty in positioning the cassettes within the housing as well as removing the cassettes from the housing.
The Drake et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,345, issued Apr. 7, 1987, discloses a compact disc storage unit. The unit comprises an outer housing and a plurality of slots located on the upper and lower surfaces of the housing interior. These slots are used to store a plurality of compact discs in a vertical face-to-face orientation. A raised central portion located on the upper outside surface of a lower housing connects to rests located on the bottom surface of an upper housing to vertically stack a plurality of housings. Compact discs are placed on slidable members for loading into the unit. A handle on the housing permits transportation of the storage unit.
The Ackeret U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,072, issued Mar. 17, 1987, discloses an audio cassette storage magazine which is comprised of a solid outer housing in which is located a plurality of half-housings which are vertically stacked in horizontal orientation within the outer housing. Tapes are stored horizontally within the half-housings. By opening a door located on each half-housing, a slider on which the tapes rest is partially ejected for ease of tape removal. The outer housing is fixedly mounted by a yoke to a surface underneath a dashboard in the interior of an automobile.
The Kamperman U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,118, issued Mar. 3, 1987, discloses a plurality of tape, disc and record storage boxes comprised of solid walls and a door. When the door is placed in an open position, the contents, which are stored in a vertical orientation, are partially withdrawn by a slide mechanism attached to the door. A plurality of storage boxes can be vertically and/or horizontally interlocked by slides and channel means located on the outside surface of the boxes.
The Bohnet et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,600, issued June 3, 1986, discloses stackable video and audio cassette storage boxes with various means to indicate when a cassette is in each box. In one embodiment of the invention, a storage box has a plurality of cassettes which are stacked horizontally in drawers located within the storage box.
The Kersting U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,459, issued Dec. 17, 1963, discloses in relevant part a wire frame for record storage wherein the records are stored in a face-to-face manner. The wire frame is mounted to a shelf through conventional U-shaped drawer glides which are mounted to the shelf and to the wire rack. A stop mechanism is provided by a small rod inserted during assembly into apertures located in the rear portion of each frame drawer glider. The frame motion will stop when the rod comes into contact with the bottom drawer glide. Rearward motion of the frame is stopped by the engagement of bends located at the lower front portion of the wire frame side member with the stationary lower drawer glide.
The Dorn U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,958, issued Apr. 2, 1974, discloses a rectangular wire frame used for book storage. A single length of wire forms the frame legs, ends, risers and side bar portion. Horizontally spaced longitudinal bars are positioned between the ends and parallel to the side bar. When placed in service, the side bar is at a lower elevation than the uppermost portion of the legs thereby causing the plane on which the books rest to be inclined. The side bar provides a stop means for book placement. V-shaped wires which hook around the longitudinal wires are connected by springs and are used as bookends to hold the books in place. Multiple sets of V-shaped wire bookends may be placed on the frame to accommodate multiple series of books.
The Frey U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,393, issued Oct. 17, 1967, discloses a record storage rack comprised of a wire frame which has a removable U-shaped record support member which holds record covers. Record covers are placed on the U-shaped member by inserting the legs of the U-shaped member through holes punched in the rear portion of the record covers. The base of the wire frame is inclined rearwardly and downwardly so records do not unintentionally slide out of the covers. A V-shaped fitting can be attached to the legs of the U-shaped member to hold the record covers in a compressed position.
The Cavanagh U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,453, issued May 9, 1967, discloses a file holder that is comprised of a wire frame. The frame consists of a single wire that is bent to form two U-shaped end portions and two longitudinal support wire portions. Files are placed within the frame for ease of transporting the files.
The Huff U.S. Pat. No. 2,892,548, issued June 30, 1959, discloses a collapsible record storage rack. The rack comprises a plurality of inverted U-shaped wires mounted on channel-shaped side holders. A base portion comprised of longitudinal and cross-wires is inserted into or removed from the channel-shaped side holders by pulling the side holders laterally apart and pressing the base into place in the side holders.
The VonMeyer U.S. Pat. No. 2,959,293, issued Nov. 8, 1960, discloses a record storage rack that is comprised of two end members held together by two longitudinal rods. The rods are spaced a predetermined vertical and horizontal distance apart. The records sit vertically face-to-face on the rods. The end pieces are then moved to a position adjacent to the record jackets to hold the records in place.
The Gutierrez U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,360, issued May 27, 1969, discloses a boxlike frame used for record storage. Pivotally mounted transverse slotted record-holding members are located in the box. Records are placed in the slotted portion of the record holders for storage.